Chapter – 03
“By the way, Firanceba.”
“Yes?”
“Dragons last appeared three hundred years ago, and none have been seen since. They’re believed to be extinct on the continent.”
Most people, like Marquis Eastern, believed dragons had gone extinct—but Firanceba did not.
‘If that damn lizard had died, it wouldn’t have sent me here. And it definitely told me I’d have to work my ass off if I wanted to return to Earth. Just wait. I’ll skin it, boil its bones into broth, and eat the whole damn thing.’
Firanceba vowed to kill Atilans no matter what—because that was the only way to return to Earth.
“But, Marquis.”
“Speak.”
“I read in a book… There are dragons called ancient dragons, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Aren’t ancient dragons supposed to live long lives? Ten thousand years? Twelve thousand?”
“They’re not called ancient dragons because they live long. They’re called ancient dragons because they already had lived long. I’ve heard some lived up to twelve thousand years. But the last time one appeared was five hundred years ago. Since then, they have never been seen again, so they likely returned to mana’s embrace.”
‘No— that bastard told me I’d have to work my ass off if I wanted to go back to Earth.’
Which meant it was still alive. Firanceba was certain of it.
“Then… are dragons really gone?”
He hid his true intentions while asking.
“Well… I believe they’re extinct, but who knows? The continent is vast, and there are still many places humans have never explored. Some may be alive somewhere.”
Firanceba’s fist tightened.
‘Be alive. You better be alive. If not, I’ll find your grave, dig you up, and kill you again.’
They left Count Ilya’s territory and began their journey to Marquis Lawrence’s lands. The travel was smooth.
Occasionally, they encountered bandits, thieves, and pickpockets—but the marquis’s escort handled them all with ease.
Through that, Firanceba realized just how skilled Marquis Eastern’s escort knights were.
“Sir Foren, are you a knight?”
“Yes, Young Master Firanceba.”
“Just call me Firanceba. I’m still young, and this isn’t even my home territory.”
“I appreciate your consideration.”
Foren gave a respectful bow. Even though Firanceba was young, he was still one of the successors eligible to inherit Count Ilya’s title and territory.
He had older brothers—Arlan and Verdi—but no one knew what the future would bring. Thus, Foren maintained proper etiquette.
“Then I’ll call you ‘uncle.’”
“…Uncle?”
“Yes.”
Foren’s expression stiffened a little, almost sulking.
“Hahaha, Firanceba.”
“Yes, Marquis?”
“Foren is not married yet.”
“Oh… Then I’ll call you ‘big brother.’ Is that okay?”
At the word “big brother,” Foren’s expression softened immediately.
“Call me however you prefer, Young Master Firanceba.”
“Not Young Master. Just Firanceba.”
Watching this exchange, Marquis Eastern thought to himself:
‘Is that how a seven-year-old is supposed to behave?’
But thinking of his own daughter, he understood.
‘Geniuses really are different. With social skills like that, his people won’t ever starve.’
“I’m not used to it yet. I’ll call you what’s comfortable for now and adjust with time.”
“Okay! I look forward to it, Brother Foren!”
“And I as well, Young Master Firanceba.”
Marquis Eastern looked at Firanceba with satisfaction.
‘He’ll get along well with Elina…’
That night, they arrived at an inn early and rented rooms to rest.
Firanceba sat cross-legged in his room, eyes closed, appearing as if he were practicing mana meditation like a mage.
‘I must be able to use magic and swordsmanship simultaneously without physical strain.’
Magic and swordsmanship.
Two forces often considered incompatible—but they could also complement each other.
Magic represented static power, while swordsmanship represented dynamic power.
Using magic while moving intensely put enormous strain on the heart—fatal for a mage. Meanwhile, swordsmanship without movement was no more than waving a stick around.
Firanceba needed both. And the reason he needed magic was simple:
To unlock his sealed class and level.
He had already mastered 9th-Circle magic in his previous life. Once the system released the seal and provided mana, he was confident he could use it freely again.
‘If I want to combine magic and martial arts, I must not build my mana circle in the heart.’
Firanceba retained memories from his previous life.
He had learned the weaknesses of mages better than anyone, so he refused to form a mana circle unless he was absolutely sure.
Yet he could still cast basic magic like Fire because of the small amount of mana he had accumulated through training and his innate high mana affinity.
‘I should first create a mana core—what martial artists call a dantian—then form the mana circle inside it. That’s the only way to overcome a mage’s weakness.’
He had absolute confidence in this idea.
‘In fantasy and wuxia novels, it always seemed like crazy imagination—but I’ve already confirmed it works in reality.’
So instead of creating a mana circle through standard mana meditation, he planned to create a mana core using mana cultivation, similar to internal energy cultivation from martial arts.
‘I’ll use the cultivation technique from the ancient Demon Realm dungeon to form the mana core—the dantian.’
In his past life in the game Freedom, he once entered the Demon Realm to obtain the Demon King Icarus’s Mirror. He barely survived a beating from Icarus and fell off a cliff—landing inside an ancient dungeon.
He nearly died several times, but in the end, he obtained a martial arts manual.
At the time, he was already a mage with a mana circle, so he didn’t need it. But because he kept losing PVP fights against warriors and knights—despite his high level—he learned the martial techniques to understand them.
Thanks to that manual, he eventually ranked 3rd in PVP.
He was Rank 1 in level, but warriors and knights dominated PVP, leaving him at Rank 3. Frustrated, he studied martial arts deeply. And now, that knowledge was invaluable.
Firanceba called the technique Heavenly Demon Art, since he obtained it from the Heavenly Demon Clan’s ancient dungeon.
When he began cultivating the Heavenly Demon Art, he felt mana gather around him.
“—Ssshhh.”
He inhaled slowly, drawing the gathered mana into his body and spreading it through his limbs. The mana entered through his breath, traveled through his meridians, and ravaged every corner of his body.
“…Hooo.”
After inhaling, he slowly exhaled, expelling the mana that had raged inside him.
—Do not leave even a trace of the mana you inhaled. Exhale it all. Only then can you expel the impurities in your body. As the impurities leave, your meridians will expand, allowing mana to circulate faster and stronger.
He recalled the manual’s teachings and followed them.
It was difficult at first, but he had been doing this training for two years in preparation for learning swordsmanship. Now, it came easily.
After exhaling completely, he inhaled again, circulating the mana once more.
—Do not obsess over forming the dantian. When the body is ready, mana will form it naturally.
Firanceba had seen many mana cultivation techniques for swordsmen, warriors, and martial artists. But this one was different.
Most techniques instructed forcing mana to settle in a desired location to form a mana core manually. But the Demon Realm manual said the opposite.
It emphasized foundation above all. When the body was ready, mana itself would create the dantian naturally.
He had debated long, but the manual had been a reward for an SSS-rank quest and had proven useful from the start—so he believed in it and continued training.
‘Effort and faith never betray you. Only when your effort or belief is lacking do things go wrong.’
“Marquis, may I ask something?”
“Go on.”
“How strong is Brother Foren?”
Bandits and monsters would flee the moment they felt Foren’s aura, so Firanceba was curious.
“Well… I’ve never seen him fight at full strength, so even I don’t know how strong he truly is. Foren may not know either.”
That wasn’t enough for Firanceba to estimate.
“Would he qualify for the Empire’s Top 100 Knights?”
“Haha, Firanceba, for someone to be the captain of a marquis family’s knight order, they must be stronger than the knight captains of count families, at minimum.”
“Oh…”
Firanceba quickly calculated.
“There are three dukes and nine marquises in the kingdom. Even if those knight captains are stronger than Brother Foren, that makes twelve… But since you hold territory and three of the marquises do not, Brother Foren must be stronger than those three…”
His eyes widened.
“Wow… then he’s at least in the top ten strongest in the kingdom!”
“Hahaha. Put that way, it seems you’re right.”
In fact, Foren was indeed one of the Empire’s Top Ten Knights—a true Master-rank knight.
He rarely showed himself, so some knights underestimated him. But whenever Foren drew his sword, blood was guaranteed to spill. Among knights, his title was “The Crimson-Blood Knight.”
“Then… will Brother Foren teach me swordsmanship?”
“No. You’ll start as a trainee and receive basic training first.”
“Trainee…? So there will be other kids too?”
“Yes. Modern knight training has become more diverse and open, but I am a bit old-fashioned.”
“Old-fashioned… how?”
“I believe a knight must learn minimum etiquette, mutual respect among fellow knights, competition to encourage growth, and cooperation with comrades. You’ll learn these through shared experiences with other trainees.”
“Oh, I can do that well!”
“Good. And in the evenings, I will personally teach you swordsmanship.”
Firanceba liked the method very much.
“Yes. I’ll do my best. I won’t disappoint the knight brothers who’ll teach me.”
“Haha, good. I’ll be watching.”
